16 Beasts
by bladesandbaits2
Summary: There were 16 beasts Naruto had met as a child. 16 beings that were as misunderstood as he was. 16 friends he had to mourn.


**I know I said that I was only going to be updating the stories I have right now, I couldn't get this plot bunny out of my head.**

 **I do not own Naruto or Shadow of the Colossus.**

(Author Input)

 _'Thoughts'_

"Talking"

 **16 Beasts**

It was nighttime in The Village Hidden in The Leaves, the mightiest of the five great Hidden Villages, and everything was silent in the streets. It was October 10th, the anniversary of the defeat of one of the Kyuubi no Kitsune and the sacrifice of one of their greatest heroes, the Fourth Hokage. Though most of the villagers were celebrating near the center of the village, someone was currently running through the empty streets.

"Go away!" The voice of a seven-year-old boy shouted.

The child in question had blond hair and blue eyes that seemed to glow in the absence of light. He wore a simple pale orange tee-shirt and black shorts. Three dark lines ran across each side of his cheeks.

He was currently running from three middle-aged men who all shared the same raven black hair and onyx eyes. The boy didn't know why they were after him, but when they started throwing kunai at him, he didn't stay to find out.

He turned a corner and found himself staring at a dead end. The child did a 180 and found the three men blocking off the only exit to the alleyway, each having a cold sneer on their face. One of them stepped forward, the boy noticed that his eyes were red and had a circle with three tomoe in each.

"We've got you cornered now, Demon!" he shouted.

"I'm not a demon! My name is Naruto!" the child replied sharply.

This angered the red-eyed man, and he started walking towards Naruto menacingly. Naruto noticed the man's eyes change into a pattern and the man's frown turned into a sinister smirk.

"You like this? I got it when I held my wife in my arms as she was killed when the Kyuubi attacked. We had known each other since we were kids. When she died, and I gained this, I practiced the jutsu I would need to avenge her every day since then. Now, I've perfected it." He stated. " **Kamui!** "

The man's eyes began to cry blood as a tear of reality formed in front of Naruto, sucking him closer and closer. He clawed at the ground, trying to grab anything that would stop the involuntary movement. His efforts were fruitless, for one of his legs entered the black hole. As his body slowly began to sink into the tear, several Leaf ANBU surrounded the three men.

The last thing he saw was a dog masked ANBU running towards him with his arm out stretched before the world sank into inky darkness.

* * *

The first thing he noticed when he gained consciousness, was how quiet it was. Now, Naruto was used to silence, he stayed in a rundown apartment all by himself, but this was different. He knew he was outside if the feeling of grass on his skin was anything to go by, and that was the strange thing. Even if someone is alone in nature, there are still sounds. Birds chirping, wind blowing, trees rustling, there was always something making a racket. Though right now, there was nothing. Just a void of silence everywhere around him.

He raised himself up, shaking the cobwebs out of his head. Once his vision cleared, Naruto gazed upon his surroundings. Gray clouds covered the skies, giving all color in the land a dull tone. He was in a valley that encompassed the vast land he found himself in. Grass blanketed the ground, with small ridges poking up every few meters.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" he called out. His only response was his own voice echoing back at him. Naruto could barely make out a large temple in the distance, with a tall, stone bridge stretching out for miles behind it.

"Maybe someone there can help me." Naruto said to himself.

He then began the long trek to the only building in sight.

* * *

The sky turned black, signifying nighttime, and the moon shone brightly above. Naruto was exhausted, using all of his strength to climb up the few stairs into the temple. The moonlight shone through the empty windowsills, lighting the inside with a silvery glow.

Near the entrance was a stone table, as if to be used in some ritual. As Naruto walked further into the building, he noticed 8 statues lining up on either side of the hallway leading to the bridge he saw earlier. Each depicted a strange creature, ranging from being bipedal to one that looked like a giant turtle.

" **#* &^#^#%& *E^%#*(#(( ^#T!" **An ancient and ominous voice echoed off the walls. It was heard as a collection of voices, both male and female, all speaking the same sentence. Naruto froze when he heard it. Even though he couldn't make heads or tails of the language, he could tell the tone. The tone was filled with nothing but malicious intent, all directed towards him.

When Naruto didn't reply, the voice, or rather collection of voices, repeated the phrase.

"I don't understand!"

Silence was his reply. Naruto stared at the ceiling, waiting for any type of response. Though he could barely see it, Naruto saw black, ethereal tendrils heading towards him at a blazing speed. Try as he might, Naruto couldn't dodge them, and they pierced his body, rendering him immobile. Naruto didn't feel any pain from it, instead it felt like it was searching for something deep inside of him.

Suddenly, the voices screeched in violent harmony, and the tendrils retracted from his body. When he regained control of his body, Naruto immediately ran to the opening that he came from. He never even looked back once.

Dormin had no idea who the tiny mortal that entered his prison. Though that hardly mattered. What did matter was the powerful energy that he felt inside the child. It felt so familiar, but Dormin couldn't pinpoint from where. After asking the tiny boy who he was twice, Dormin had enough and entered his mind. He looked through anything he could, the boy's memories, soul, ancestry. However, he stopped when he saw one face. A face that scared him more than anything in existence. The face of the man that had split him into 16 different beings.

He was an elderly man with gray spiky hair and pale skin. His eyes were a grayish purple and had rings around the pupils expanding outward. On top of his head were two horns, and in the center of his forehead was a third eye. It was red with the same rings as his regular eyes and had tomoe on the rings.

Dormin screeched. He wanted the boy out. **Now.**

He watched as the child ran out of the temple and hoped never to see him again.

* * *

Naruto ran as far away as he could, not stopping until he reached the valley wall. By then he was beyond exhausted, gasping for breath while leaning against the stone mass. His eyes began to droop, and his body began to fail. Naruto didn't even notice that he had collapsed right next to a strange staircase that led up to the top of the wall.

 _The next day_

The morning sun shined in his eyes, rousing him out of his sleep. When he regained his bearings, Naruto finally noticed the stairwell he collapsed next to. Being the only other man-made structure he could find, and the fact that the other option was going back to the temple, Naruto immediately began to climb them.

' _Hopefully there's somebody that will help me'_ he hoped

It was difficult at first, jumping across gaps and climbing ledges definitely took a toll on one's body. Naruto leaned against the cliffside, panting for air. When he finally had his energy back, he looked up in hope to find some form of civilization. The only sight that greeted him though, was a smaller, boxed in canyon. The walls were impossible to climb at his age. Naruto sighed in defeat as he stared down at the ground.

As he rested, a faint stomping sound reached his ears. It grew louder and louder, each thump causing the ground to shake more and more. Naruto couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the cause of the strange phenomenon stepping out of the tree clearing.

The giant looked as ancient as it did tall. Its body appeared to be a combination of both stone, man, and beast. Stone plates covered the skin of its hind legs and three stone rings wrapped around its abdomen. Stone slabs were attached to each of its shoulders and stone gauntlets covered its hands, one of which was wrapped around an elegantly carved mace made of rock.

It didn't seem to notice Naruto, continuing its path across the land. When it passed Naruto, he noticed on its back were three platforms, two sitting next to each other near its shoulders and one under them. As the giant carried on and on, getting farther away, Naruto walked out into the open and gazed at the hairy back of the unknown being in shock, surprised that such a creature existed. The creature, combined with what happened in Konoha and the temple; and the fact that all of it transpired in less than 24 hours, caused him to go numb.

He didn't notice the giant reach the end of his path, which happened to be a wall, and turn around, or that the giant's glowing blue eyes had locked on to his small form, shifting to a luminous red for a split second before returning to their original color. The creature started to make his way towards him, it's gaze never leaving Naruto. The last step it took snapped him out of his trance, and Naruto looked up to see a large, 5 digited appendage lowering down towards him.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed while trying to shield himself with his arms.

The hand wrapped around his body, not crushing him but still trapping him. Naruto felt himself being slowly lifted into the air. The hand stopped mid-air and unfurled from his body. Naruto looked around and came face to face with blue, swirling eyes. They didn't seem threatening, more like…curious?

* * *

Who was this small little being he had come across? Valus had started his day as he did every day. Get up, walk his usual path… and that was pretty much it. All he ever did was walk his path, never straying too far from his assigned post from the temple. Yet today, for the first time in a century, he had found another living being in the Forbidden Land.

He studied the creature that was standing in the palm of his hand. The thing was young, that was obvious by its size, and it wasn't a threat since it didn't have the sword. It seemed so familiar to Valus, like it triggered a distant memory of his, and he couldn't quite place a finger on it. Not to mention the mysterious energy that emanated from inside the child. It was only when he heard what the boy said when Valus could connect the dots.

"Um… Hi. My names Naruto. Please don't eat me."

Well, it wasn't exactly about what the boy had to say, but more of how he said it.

The language he spoke, was the exact same language as the one that created him. The one who taught him and his brothers the difference between right and wrong. The one who beat the importance that they never reform back into one being in their skulls.

It was the language of Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths.

* * *

Naruto didn't receive a response from the beast, instead it tilted its head in what seemed to be surprise. After minutes of silence, he began to panic. What was it thinking? What ways it could cook him into a delicious meal? Finally, after an eternity of silence, he received a response.

" **I…Valus. What…you…doing…here?"** the being questioned, its voice gravely and rough from being unused for years.

"Um…I don't really know how. It's kind of a long story." Naruto replied.

" **Nothing…but…time.** " Valus rebutted. It was the one thing that all the Colossi had an abundance of.

"Well, I guess it had something to do with that man's eyes changing color. That's the last thing I remember before ending up here."

That caught Valus' interest, **"Describe…him."**

"Well, he had black hair and eyes, but then they turned red. It was weird."

Valus had immediately known who, or at least what kind of person, Naruto had been talking about. Hagoromo's spirit had kept the Colossi well informed of the events that transpired in the Elemental Countries far after his death. From the descendants of his bloodline to the powers they possessed, they knew everything there was to know about Hagoromo's home.

" **Uchiha."** He growled out.

To think that one of them would use such a Jutsu on a child, it was shameful. Now the child was stuck here, unless…

Yes, it was possible that _**he**_ had the power to send the child back to his home, but just getting Naruto to him would be dangerous. Hell, Valus didn't even know where 14 of his brothers were, let alone the one that could help Naruto. The child would have to go through obstacles that would be considered impossible by grown men. Though when he looked into the boy's eyes, he could see determination, resourcefulness, and cunning. At that moment, he knew his next action would be the right one.

Valus lowered Naruto down to the ground and urged him to get off the giant's hand. Naruto followed his instructions and slid off the palm onto the dirt ground below. Valus then carefully and slowly pressed his index finger into Naruto's forehead. The seven-year-old felt a slight tingle go through his brain as he received the image of a riverside beach, a set of directions, and a single name. _**Quadratus.**_

He absently rubbed his head as he gazed up at Valus inquisitively. The Colossi in question decided to explain.

" **Go…there. Will…find…way…home."** Valus simply stated, before starting to walk away from Naruto.

"Wait! What will I find there? Who will I find there?" Naruto shouted to the retreating form of the giant.

He received no answer and watched as Valus climbed the walls of the cliff, then disappear a few seconds after. Naruto was left in the canyon, alone once more in this strange new land. With no other choice left, he began his trek to the destination Valus had given him and find the one who held the name Quadratus.

* * *

 **Wooooooo, I'm back baby! Sorry for not updating in a while, Driver's Ed kept me busy all the way to 7 each night. I'll be working to update all of my stories for now, so be on the lookout.**

 **P.S. Can you guess what I'm doing to cause Naruto to meet all of the Colossi individually?**


End file.
